In unanimous vote, The Louisville Metro Council has approved changes to the city’s public nuisance ordinance that crackdown on criminal activity at hotels and motels and holds the owner of the establishment liable for repeated police visits and arrests on the property.
Under the new ordinance, hotels and motels could face closure if nothing is done about criminal activity.
“I want to thank the members of the Metro Council for moving this legislation forward,” said Councilman Steve Magre (D-10) the chief sponsor of the changes. “These changes, if Metro Government follows through with enforcement will go a long way in giving LMPD and Code Enforcement the tools they need to crack down on many problem hotels and motels that neighborhoods in our city have had to deal with for too long.”
The ordinance sets out guidelines for citing hotels and motels for more than five arrests or citations at facilities with 100 or more rooms in a period of 60 days. It differentiates between hotels and apartment complexes. It does allow for law enforcement and code regulation to cite individual units that are problems in apartments or condominiums.
The measure was approved by the Metro Council’s Public Safety Committee on Monday. The Greater Louisville Hotel and Lodging Association work with Magre and gave its endorsement of the changes as well.
“Anytime we pass an ordinance to protect the public, we must make sure it does what it is intended to do,” said Councilman David Yates (D-25), who chairs the Public Safety Committee. “I believe we have a good piece of legislation that will protect the public and I want to thank Councilman Magre for his willingness to work with all the parties to ensure that goal is achieved.”
The ordinance also adds new definitions to the term nuisance including murder, assaults and trafficking in synthetic controlled substance. The latter offense is becoming a growing problem in Metro Louisville.
“This ordinance is a starting point for law enforcement to deal with what is becoming a serious danger to our children. It needs to be enforced. Providing better tools that our police officers can use to better protect our children is essential to the Public Safety of our community,” said Councilman David James (D-6) who included synthetic drugs into the changes.
“I am supportive anytime we can add a tool to help Code Enforcement and LMPD clean up establishments that have become a public nuisance and address loop holes in existing law that have allowed these issues to worsen over time,” said Councilman James Peden (R-23), who is Vice Chair of the Public Safety Committee.
Key provisions of the Public Nuisance Ordinance
Other key points:
For more information contact:
Tony Hyatt 574-4137 / 526-3622
Stephen Haag: 574-1204 / 645-1752
On Thursday night, The Louisville Metro Council will review and then vote on proposed changes to the city’s public nuisance ordinance. The changes are sponsored by Councilman Steve Magre (D-10) and are designed to curtail criminal activity at problem hotels and motels in Metro Louisville.
The President of the Bon Air Neighborhood Association has come out in praise of the work done on the ordinance.
“My time on the Metro Council is growing short and I want to thank the people of the Bon Air Neighborhood and those who live along Sumner Avenue for helping us get to this point,” says Magre. “”It is important to note that after action by the Council, this ordinance must be enforced and it becomes important that the city and the neighborhoods work together to achieve a safer community.”
Magre’s office is releasing this letter from Patrick Carrico, President of Bon Air Neighborhood Association, stressing the importance of the ordinance.
Bardstown Road from Goldsmith Lane to Bashford Manor Lane separates the Bon Air and Bashford Manor neighborhoods. It separates Louisville Metro District 10 from District 26. It separates the Bon Air Neighborhood Association from the Bashford Manor and the Brown Suburban Neighborhood Associations.
Despite all that separates the residents of these fine neighborhoods, we are united in our support for the revised Metro Louisville Nuisance Ordinance (O-293-15). This ordinance will close a giant loophole which has allowed the Economy Inn to become a haven for crime and a costly consumer of city services.
In 2014, the Louisville Metro Police made over 1,300 trips to the Economy Inn for reasons that include assault, drug activity, criminal mischief, and robbery. In June of this year, police responded to an attempted murder. The current nuisance ordinance does not give police or the city the tools they need to address crime hotspots at hotels in this city.
The residents of Bon Air, Bashford Manor, and the Brown Suburban are pleased to have an advocate on the Metro Council in Councilman Steve Magre, however, it is important for us, as residents and citizens of Metro Louisville, to point out that Councilman Magre has been SERVING his constituents and acting ON OUR BEHALF. It is the people of district 10 and 26 that have led the fight to address rampant criminal activity at local businesses.
The residents that live near this stretch of Bardstown Road have watched on as home values have declined and the reputation of our working class neighborhoods have been dragged through the mud due, in part, to the reputation for rampant criminal activity at the Economy Inn. We thank Councilman Magre and his staff for their generous support.
We have watched, with great interest, the swift and serious action taken by the city in response to a bar in the Highlands that has become an issue for residents in recent months. We hope that the city will take JUST AS SERIOUSLY the concerns of Bon Air, Bashford Manor, and the Brown Suburban when it comes to a business that has been an issue to residents FOR YEARS.
For the long term residents of the Economy Inn, we are committed to working with city services, the Metro Council, and the Mayor’s office to find safe, clean, and permanent housing for those who may be affected by the new nuisance ordinance and the pending Health Department review of failed inspections.
Patrick Carrico, President
Bon Air Neighborhood Association
Attorney General Jack Conway and his Office of Consumer Protection are alerting Kentucky consumers about a data breach from Experian and are encouraging Kentuckians to take steps to protect their personal information. Attorney General Conway says consumers should watch for signs of identity theft following the breach.
Earlier this month, a breach of personal data of T-Mobile customers, that was stored on an Experian server, affected approximately 15 million consumers nationwide, including more than 134,000 Kentuckians. The accessed data included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birth dates and driver’s license numbers of current T-Mobile customers and consumers requiring a credit check for service or device financing from Sept. 1, 2013 through Sept. 16, 2015.
“Becoming a victim of a data breach can be a frustrating and stressful experience,” Attorney General Conway said. “If you have been impacted by this recent cyberattack on Experian, I encourage you to take advantage of the free credit monitoring and identity protection services being offered by the company. Additionally, consumers can always find a step-by-step toolkit designed to assist identity theft victims on my website, www.ag.ky.gov/idtheft. The faster you detect identity theft, the sooner you can report and correct it.”
Experian is sending letters to affected individuals with information about the breach and how to enroll for free credit monitoring. Consumers affected by this breach are encouraged to take advantage of two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft resolution services offered by Experian. Experian is also offering free security freezes on Experian’s credit reports to the affected consumers. To enroll in these services and view other information about the data breach, please visit Experian’s website at: http://www.experian.com/data-breach/t-mobilefacts.html
T-Mobile has also provided information about the data breach on their website:http://www.t-mobile.com/landing/experian-data-breach.html.
Attorney General Conway and his Office of Consumer Protection also recommend the following tips to help keep you safe from identity theft:
• Stay informed by checking Experian’s website for updates about the data breach.
• Take advantage of the free credit monitoring and identity resolution services offered by Experian and consider the free credit freezes on your Experian credit report. Check Experian’s website for information.
• Consider placing a free “fraud alert” on your credit reports. Fraud alerts notify businesses that check your credit reports that they should verify identity before issuing credit in your name. You can sign up by contacting any major credit bureau: Equifax, 1-800-525-6285, www.equifax.com ; TransUnion, 1-800-680-7289, www.transunion.com ; Experian, 1-888-397-3742, www.experian.com.
• Check your credit report for accounts you do not recognize or that have been placed in collection without your knowledge.
• Monitor your credit and bank accounts for unauthorized transactions. Contact your financial institution immediately if you find such transactions.
• Beware of “phishing” calls and emails from callers and websites urging you to give up personal information. Do not provide your social security number, credit card or other personal information in response to unsolicited emails or calls.
If you believe you have been a victim of identity theft, contact your local police department to report it and ask for a copy of the police report or incident report. Identity theft victims can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by visiting https://www.identitytheft.gov/ or calling 1-877-438-4338. The Kentucky Attorney General’s toll-free Data Breach Hotline is 1-855-813-6508.
The Office of the Attorney General’s identity theft toolkit is available atwww.ag.ky.gov/idtheft .
Credit: Louisville Metro Police
At approximately 3:00 A.M. this morning, police were called to the 5300 block of Alanadale Dr in Valley Station.
They found two women lying in the street. Both women were taken to the University of Louisville Hospital, where one woman later died. The other is still in serious condition. After investigation, the police determined that the women were walking in the road when they were struck from behind. The driver then fled the scene.
The only information known about vehicle was that it was black or another dark color.
If you know anything about this crime, please call LMPD’s CrimeTip Hotline at 574-LMPD (5673).
Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton says he got the idea from another sheriff in Georgia. The Sheriff’s Office has been receiving thousands of online likes and shares of a post that offers their “free service to help you eliminate your drug competition.” Melton claims to have had over 100,000 people engaged by the social media post.
The campaign has led to hundreds of calls and double-digit “credible tips” about local drug dealers.
The post included a form to fill out with relevant details to help the police with their investigation, along with an address to which the form could be mailed and a phone number to call or text with the information.
While the ad is a humorous reminder to the general public that they can help clean up their neighborhoods by reporting illegal activity, it seems as if some drug dealers have taken the message to heart. It has been reported that at least one alleged drug dealer has actually called his sheriff to report another in an apparent attempt to squeeze out his competition.
Late last night, around 11:30 P.M., Shively Police responded to reports of gun fire in the 4000 block of Dixie Highway. Witnesses reported that the shots were coming from a yellow Volkswagen Beetle.
Police stopped a car matching the description and during questioning, all three men in the car, including Dinh Truong himself, admitted that Truong had shot a gun into the air six times.
Truong was arrested and charged with wanton endangerment. Bond was set at $5,000.
Credit: Louisville Metro Police
National Night Out (NNO) is an annual community-police awareness-raising event held on the first Tuesday of August since 1984. The event, organized in part by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), is meant to increase awareness about police programs in communities, such as drug prevention, neighborhood watch, and other anti-crime efforts.
Aimed at community-building, promoting police-community partnerships, and developing neighborhood camaraderie, there are a number of events being held around Louisville this Tuesday, August 4th.
1st Division
6-8pm
Waterfront Park, Louisville, KY 40202
2nd Division
6-8pm
First Choice Market, 3044 Wilson Avenue, Louisville, KY 40211
3rd Division
6-8pm
Home Depot, 6840 Dixie Highway, Louisville, KY 40258
4th Division
5-8pm
Wyandotte Park, 1104 Beecher Street, Louisville, KY 40215
5th Division
6-9pm
Peterson-Dumesnil House, 301 S. Peterson Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206
6th & 7th Divisions
6-8pm
Target Okolona, 7311 Jefferson Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40219
8th Division
6-8pm
Target Middleton, 12975 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, KY 40243